diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index ec47dd506fa58ad3b692d0e282869b3953120652..9c3809584d4a62f9a8b1798b9964bbf45f3616a6 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,6 +4,14 @@
 #------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.7)
+
+# Fail immediately if not using an out-of-source build
+if(CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR STREQUAL CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR)
+  message(FATAL_ERROR
+    "In-source builds are not supported.  Please create a build directory "
+    "separate from the source directory")
+endif()
+
 project(ADIOS VERSION 2.0.0)
 
 #------------------------------------------------------------------------------#